Sylvan Thirty development awaiting city building permits; we’ll keep you posted

Word is, the Sylvan Thirty project will bring a mix of retail, services, apartments and open space to six acres that have been cleared for going on two years at Interstate 30, Sylvan and Fort Worth avenues.

The developers have announced an impressive array of future tenants: a food market, butcher and wine retailer, culinary incubator, coffee shop, fish market and yoga studio.

And last April, after winning a protracted zoning battle and some city financial backing, the project team announced on one of its websites that “we’ve heard the rally cries from the neighborhood and supporters, ‘When is the dirt going to fly?’

“We’re now on track to break ground early summer, which means you’ll be seeing construction activity by late July,” the announcement continued. “We’ll keep you posted on the ceremonial groundbreaking. Consider yourself invited!”

Days earlier, Brent Jackson, the development’s lead investor, had told us groundbreaking could come as early as May or June. But as we moved into autumn, we asked him what was up with the project — as in, for example, when will the hammers be hammering?

Jackson responded generously, cryptically and optimistically “off the record.” And he gave us this written statement: “The zoning and permitting process has taken a little longer than we expected, causing us to miss our initial target dates. Once we receive our permits, we will start preparing the site for construction.”

Along those lines, his planning consultants applied for building permits and certificates of occupancy on June 11. Jackson paid a premium to expedite the process, and a project representative first met with members of the city planning staff on July 2.

The staff identified a number of “deficiencies” with the construction plans, and the Sylvan Thirty rep returned this week for a second round of review. We’re told the lingering issues aren’t that unusual and once resolved, a building permit will be issued — perhaps next week.

And once issued, the permit holder would have two years to begin work.